 BetterPhoto Member |
Shooting Fireworks I am a very novice photographer, but with the 4th of July coming soon I would like to know the best way to shoot fireworks. Any ideas for a beginner?
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Maynard McKillen |
Dear Evelyn: What kind of camera do you have? Frequently people use a 35mm SLR. They focus the lens at infinfity, mount the camera on a tripod or some other sturdy device that will allow them to aim the camera and will also hold it still. Then they set the shutter speed dial to "B" (bulb setting; the shutter stays open as long as you hold down the shutter button), select an f/stop of about f/4, press the shutter button as they hear the fireworks being launched, and hold the button down through one or more bursts of fireworks. The shutter might be open for anywhere between about, oh, six seconds to twenty or thirty seconds, so you might record one, two, three or more fireworks on one negative. Since the brightness of the fireworks is affected by how close you are and how powerful and/or large any individual firework can be, try changing the f/stop for some of the photos, and plan to take plenty of photos to increase your chances of getting a few winners. Many 35mm SLR cameras allow you to attach a cable release to the camera. This device has a plunger or button on it that will open the camera's shutter, so that you don't actually have to touch the camera, and thus avoid the danger of accidentally moving the camera during the time exposure. Even if you don't have a 35mm SLR, you may be able to take photos with one of those once-common 35mm point and shoot cameras. Some of the later models had a bulb setting, so you could mount it to a tripod or some other sturdy platform and hold the shutter button down for several seconds. These models didn't tend to give you any control over the f/stop however, unless you were able to set the film ISO manually. If the latter is the case, try changing the ISO on some shots. As to film, fireworks are bright enough that you don't need an especially high ISO film for great results. ISO 200 can work just fine. (Sometimes you give the fireworks a sense of scale by including some of the crowd at the bottom of the photo.)
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John A. Lind |
Evelyn, Maynard mentions the basic equipment and procedure, but I disagree with exposure settings . . . aperture and the maximum amount of time. Exposure is not determined by shutter speed, but by lens aperture based on the film speed you are using. I've had the best results using slower film, including Kodachrome 64 and Ektachrome E100S (slide films), and Royal Gold 100 and ISO 100 Fuji Reala (color negative). ISO 25 - 50: f/5.6 As Maynard mentions, set camera to "B" (B = bulb). Hold shutter open until you have the number of sky bursts you want, but no more than about 8 seconds. Reason for not holding the shutter open any longer is to keep the sky a darker black. Longer exposures can be made, but often the sky will turn gray, especially if the fireworks are creating smoke. If you listen carefully, you will hear a soft "whump" sound when skyrockets are launched from their mortar tubes. I listen for this and open the shutter when I hear it. One additional trick can be done using a hat (without any vent holes) provided you are shooting from a very dark location. If you want to stop the exposure briefly, you can hold it open with the cable release, and simply cover the front of the lens with the hat. Don't hang the hat on it, or touch the lens with it . . . just block the exposure with it by holding it over the lens front. Continue exposure by removing the hat from in front of the lens. Helps if the hat is black, or very dark blue or very dark brown. Indeed, during the 1800's few cameras had shutters. Exposures with the extremely slow film emulsions were often 10 seconds or longer . . . even in bright daylight. What served as a shutter? The lens cover which was more like a leather cup (similar to a dice cup) than the type of lens cap in common use today. Remove cover to start exposure; replace cover to end it.
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BetterPhotoJim.com - Jim Peak  Contact Jim Peak Jim Peak's Gallery |
These are great responses and once again I wanted to express my thanks for all of the helpful contributions from the BetterPhoto members who frequently answer questions. I also wanted to add that I have an article on this very topic, Top Tips for Shooting Fireworks.
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Maynard McKillen |
P.S., I like the "Hat Trick." Evelyn, you might want to document which f/stop and shutter speed you use for each frame, and the ISO of the film. That way you can evaluate the "success" of each frame, record settings that worked well, and use similar settings in similar circumstances until you have enough images for your book on the subject!
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